Service restored to BART riders in East Bay

Normal BART service was restored in the East Bay on Thursday following a two-hour disruption caused by a cracked rail near the Lake Merritt station, a BART spokesman said.

Service underwent a "major delay" of up to 30 minutes following the discovery of the damaged rail around 9:15 a.m. in the underground "Y" section beneath downtown Oakland where several BART lines intersect, according to BART spokesman Linton Johnson.

The damaged section of track was shut down and passengers were directed to transfer at the West Oakland, Bayfair and Oakland City Center 12th St. stations to trains on the opposite platform, in order to continue their journey.

Service was restored at 11:07 a.m.

It was not immediately known what caused the cracked rail. The cracked rail, Johnson said, "sounds a lot more serious than it really is, however we're taking precautions."